Trailer: Jesse Eisenberg Learns ‘The Art of Self Defense’

A dark comedy set in the world of karate. The film centers on Casey (Jesse Eisenberg), who is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman (Imogen Poots) fighting for her place in it. Casey undertakes a journey, both frightening and darkly funny, that will place him squarely in the sights of his enigmatic new mentor.

Content from our partners

A longtime movie lover, since her mother let her stay up late to watch old movies like To Kill a Mockingbird, Kit Bowen has turned her passion into a long and varied career in the entertainment business. A native Floridian, she landed in Southern California as a teenager, and eventually earned a B.A. in English at UCLA. For the past 15 years, Kit has been an online entertainment journalist, reporter and film critic, writing for Hollywood.com, Fandango, Movies.com, ExtraTV.com and ScreenPicks.com. Her crowning jewel, however, is her movie how-to guide, TheMovieKit.com, which brings to her loyal readers movie reviews, interviews, trailers, and more. Her reviews are also featured on Rotten Tomatoes. Just think of Kit as a mini-IMdb.